Support for boxes, cards, or similar articles.



No. 660,171. Patented Oct. 23, L900. 6. D. SNELL.

SUPPORT FOR BOXES, CARDS, 0R SIMILAR ARTICLES.

(Application filed Dec. 22, 1899.)

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UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

irEORGE D. SNELL, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNCR OF TWO-THIRDS TO ARTHUR M. WVHAPLES AND EDXVIN A. KISTLER, OF SAME PLACE.

SUPPORT FOR BOXES, CARDS, OR SIMELAR ARTICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,171, dated October 23, 1900.

Application filed December 22, 1899. Serial No. 741,308. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. SNELL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Denver,in the countyofArapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Supports for Boxes, Cards, or Similar Articles; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in easel-supports forboxes,cards,calendars, and other articles; and the objects of my invention are, first, to provide an attachable and detachable support that will hold boxes containing manufactured goods, as boxes of stationery, gloves, shirts, and other articles, at any desired angular position to display their contents; second, to provide a box and card support that can be very quickly attached and detached to boxes, cards, &c., by storekeepers to their boxed goods, and, third, to provide a simple, cheap, and strong box-support. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a box, showing my improved support partially in section. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the box and support. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the box and the support on an enlarged Fig. at is a perspective View of the clip of the support that is attached to the box, and Fig. 5 is an elevation of the box-supporting rod.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a box in which articles may be placed for display. To the bottom of the box I secure a clip 2, which consists of a flat piece of tin or similar metal. This clip is preferably square, and at each corner a projecting wing-piece 3 extends a short distance. The body and corner-wings of the clip can be stamped or pressed out of sheet tin, brass, or aluminium. The corner-wings 3 are then bent at right angles to the body portion, as shown in Fig. 4. The supporting-rod is formed of a single piece of small wire which is a little more than. twice the length the rod is to be after it is made up. The length of wire is then bent into the form of an elongated fiat loop 5, which forms the base of the rod portion of the support. The sides of the wires are then brought together at the center of the length of the loop and are then twisted together, and this twisting of the two sides of the wire is continued until a twisted rod 6 of the desired length is obtained. The ends 7 are then spread apart by curving them outward at substantiallyequal distances on each side of the center of the rod. They are, however, arranged to stand substantially parallel with the twistedrod portion of the support. The extreme ends 8 of the wire are then flattened into thin wedges, which makes them thin and broad at their ends. The clip, with its wings turned at right angles to its body portion, may be placed on the back of the box and pressed down firm enough to indent slightly the card board. A point of a knife is then used to make incisions through the cardboard where the indentations occur. The wings of the clips are then passed through the incisions until the body of the clip lies fiat against the back of the box or when the wings are tapered, as shown at the top of Fig. 4.. They may be pressed easily through the box by the hands without making any incisions. The wings are then folded down against the inside of the bottom of the box. The thin wedge ends of the rod are then forced between the body of the clip and the bottom of the box, both of which yield or spring back as the wedge ends of the rod are forced between them. The back of the box forms the abutment of the upper end of the supporting-rod, the spring of the clip clamping it firmly and tightly against it. Just below the wedge ends of the rod the rod is bent at an outward angle from the ends, so that the rod will stand out from the box at a suitable angle to support it firmly at an angle of preferably from about forty-five degrees to sixty degrees.

My invention is very simple and can be applied to boxes at the factory where the boxes are made, or the clips and rods can be kept at hand by storekeepers and can be applied to boxes Whenever desired, as it only requires a few seconds to apply a clip to a box, or a number of boxes can be'fitted with them and kept to display goods in.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination with the boX of the clip comprising a square, thin fiat body of metal having wings at its four corners, with a rod twisted out of a length of wire first into a loop, then from the center of said loop into a rod, then having its free ends spread out from the twisted-rod portion but arranged substantially parallel with it, then having its ends formed into thin Wedges, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE D. SNELL. Witnesses:

ARTHUR M. WHAPLES, BESSIE THOMPSON. 

